1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disc cartridge, and more particularly, to an optical disc cartridge capable of facilitating accommodating an optical disc into a cartridge or taking out the accommodated optical disc from the cartridge when the optical disc is directly inserted into a disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus or the cartridge in which the optical disc is accommodated is inserted into the disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus in order to record information on the optical disc or reproduce the recorded information, and to the recording and/or reproducing apparatus.
2. Description of the Conventional Art
As a DVD technique is developed, a disc for recording and reproducing information is being densified. The densified disc or an important disc is used with being accommodated in a cartridge for a safe protection of data.
FIG. 1 is a disassembled perspective view showing an optical disc cartridge used for a blue-ray disc in accordance with the conventional art.
As shown, the optical disc cartridge comprises: a lower case 10 having an access hole 11 to which an optical pickup accesses at a lower surface thereof; a pair of left and right shutters 20 and 30 hinge-coupled to the lower case 10, for opening and closing the access hole 11; a rotation wheel 40 coupled to the pair of shutters 20 and 30, for opening and closing the pair of shutters 20 and 30; an optical disc 50 mounted on the rotation wheel 40; an upper case 60 having a viewing hole 61, coupled to the lower case 10, and covering the pair of shutters 20 and 30, the rotation wheel 40, the optical disc 50, etc.; a latch 70 mounted at an edge of the lower case 10, for fixing and releasing the rotation wheel 40.
The lower case 10 is formed as a square plate, and is provided with the access hole 11 penetratingly-formed with a certain shape at one side thereof. Two bosses 12 for hinge-coupling the left and right shutters 20 and 30 are protruded at one side of the lower case.
The left shutter 20 is provided with a cam groove 21 of a certain shape at a plate of a certain shape, and a hinge hole 22 for inserting the boss 12 is formed at one side of the plate. A first fixing protrusion 23 is formed at a lateral position of the hinge hole 22, and a second fixing protrusion 24 is formed at an opposite position of the hinge hole 22.
The right shutter 30 is provided with a cam groove 31 of a certain shape at a plate of a certain shape, and a hinge hole 32 for inserting the boss 12 is formed at one side of the plate. A first fixing protrusion 33 is formed at a lateral position of the hinge hole 32.
The left shutter 20 and the right shutter 30 are coupled to the lower case 10 so that the hinge holes 22 and 32 can be rotatably inserted into the bosses 12 of the lower case 10, respectively.
The rotation wheel 40 is formed as a ring shape, and a plurality of gear portions 41 are formed at an outer circumferential surface of one side of the rotation wheel 40. A fixing groove 42 for inserting the latch 70 is formed near the gear portions 41. Also, cam protrusions 43 inserted into the cam groove 21 of the left shutter and the cam groove 31 of the right shutter are formed at one surface of the rotation wheel 40. The rotation wheel 40 is positioned on the left shutter 20 and the right shutter 30 so that the cam protrusions 43 can be respectively inserted into the cam grooves 21 and 31 of the left and right shutters.
The optical disc is positioned on the rotation wheel 40.
The latch 70 is rotatably coupled to one side edge of the lower case 10, and one side thereof is protruded to outside of the lower case 10. The latch 70 is provided with an elastic portion 71 supported at a lateral wall of the lower case 10. One side of the latch 70 is inserted into the fixing groove 42 of the rotation wheel 40 in a state that the left shutter 20 and the right shutter 30 close the access hole 11 of the lower case, thereby fixing the rotation wheel 40.
The upper case 60 is formed as a square shape corresponding to the lower case 10, and is provided with a viewing hole 61 having an inner diameter smaller than an outer diameter of the optical disc 50 therein.
The lower case 10 and the upper case 60 are coupled to each other by a plurality of screws (not shown).
Operation of the optical disc cartridge will be explained as follows.
In the optical disc cartridge, information is recorded on the optical disc 50 positioned on the optical disc cartridge or reproduced by a disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus. Before the optical disc cartridge is inserted into the disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus, the left shutter 20 and the right shutter 30 are in a state of closing the access hole 11 of the lower case, and a part of the latch 70 is inserted into the fixing groove 42 of the rotation wheel 40 thus to prevent the rotation wheel 40 from being rotated.
In the state that the left shutter 20 and the right shutter 30 close the access hole 11, the first fixing protrusions 23 and 33 of the left and right shutters 20 and 30 and the second fixing protrusion 24 of the let shutter 20 press an upper surface of the optical disc 50 thereby to fix the optical disc 50.
As the upper surface of the optical disc 50 is pressed at three points by the first and second fixing protrusions 23 and 33 of the left and right shutters 20 and 30 and the second fixing protrusion 24 of the left shutter 20, foreign materials such as dust, etc. are prevented from being introduced into a recording surface of the optical disc 50 and the recording surface of the optical disc are prevented from being damaged when vibration is applied thereto.
When the optical disc cartridge is inserted into the disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus, a part of the latch 70 protruded to outside of the lower case 10 is pressed and the latch 70 is angle-rotated. According to this, a part of the latch 70 is detached from the fixing groove 42. Also, as a rack (not shown) provided at the disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus moves with being engaged with the gear portions 41 of the rotation wheel, the rotation wheel 40 is rotated and thereby the cam protrusions 43 of the rotation wheel are respectively moved along the cam grooves 21 and 31 of the left and right shutters.
As the cam protrusions 43 of the rotation wheel 40 are respectively moved along the cam grooves 21 and 31 of the left and right shutters, the left and right shutters 20 and 30 are respectively rotated centering around the bosses 12 of the lower case serving as a hinge axis. According to this, the access hole 11 of the lower case is opened, and the first fixing protrusions 23 and 33 and the second fixing protrusion 24 releases the supporting of the optical disc 50.
The optical pickup of the disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus accesses to the recording surface of the optical disc through the access hole 11 thereby to reproduce or record data.
An optical disc of a high density can be used with being accommodated in a cartridge, and can be directly inserted into a disc recording and/or reproducing apparatus without being accommodated in the cartridge thus to reproduce and record information as a disc reproducing technique is developed. In the latter case, the optical disc has to be easily accommodated in the cartridge or the accommodated optical disc has to be easily taken out from the cartridge.
However, in the conventional optical disc cartridge, when the optical disc 50 is accommodated in the cartridge or the accommodated optical disc is taken out from the cartridge, a plurality of screws have to be engaged to the upper case 60 and the lower case 10 or the engaged screws have to be released. According to this, it is complicated to accommodate the optical disc 50 in the cartridge or to take out the accommodated optical disc from the cartridge, and an additional tool has to be used.
Also, when the optical disc is accommodated in the cartridge or the accommodated optical disc is taken out from the cartridge, the left and right shutters 20 and 30 are moved by rotating the rotation wheel 40 and thereby the fixing protrusions 23, 24, and 33 of the left and right shutters 20 and 30 fixedly-support or release the optical disc. According to this, the process for accommodating the optical disc in the cartridge or taking out the accommodated optical disc becomes more complicated and difficult.